Mangalore (PTI): Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) national general secretary Elyas Thumbe has claimed that the Congress "ditched" his party in the 2018 Assembly elections in Karnataka though there was a tacit understanding between the two parties. “We are not going to commit the mistake (of associating with the Congress) again,” Thumbe said, talking to reporters at Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada district on Thursday.

Thumbe has been nominated as the SDPI candidate for Bantwal constituency in the coming elections. There is no question of SDPI withdrawing from the election fray this time, he said. Thumbe said the SDPI lost badly in the last elections because it trusted the Congress, which had offered to support the party in some constituencies.

He said the SDPI had decided to field 25 candidates during the last elections. However, there was an agreement as per a request from influential Congress leaders on two conditions. It was agreed that SDPI would contest only in three seats and Congress would field weak candidates there and ensure that SDPI candidates emerged victorious from those seats.

SDPI was to support Congress candidates in other seats in return, he said. However, the Congress did not stick to its word as some of its leaders joined the BJP. It was a betrayal from the Congress side, which led to BJP winning in many seats, Thumbe said. Thumbe said the SDPI has started focussing on election work right from the ground level this time.